second floor

American  

noun

1. the floor or story above the ground floor.

2. (in Britain and elsewhere outside the U.S.) the second story completely above ground level.

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second floor British  

noun

1. US and Canadian term: third floor.  the storey of a building immediately above the first and two floors up from the ground

2. British equivalent: first floor.  the floor or storey of a building immediately above the ground floor

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Etymology

Origin of second floor

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

My friend Joseph Lee has his painting studio on the second floor of a strip mall plaza, his half-squeezed tubes of paint line the walls from end to end.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

Issa and his wife were in bed with their grandson on the second floor just after 3 a.m. that Sunday when they were woken by a loud crash outside.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

From the second floor where it is made, it runs along conveyor belts down to the first floor, bringing a a sweet, warm aroma to the building.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

She said she’d like to find a new apartment because the partly subsidized unit she’s been living in for 26 years has no elevator and she’s on the second floor.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

Our cafeteria is on the second floor and always feels way overcrowded and noisy.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh